A Proactive Response to DOGE’s Cuts on IT Vendors

Reducing costs and improving services to citizens isn’t an either-or scenario for federal agencies. You can accomplish both at the same time if you take a strategic approach to managing digital sprawl, especially the technology behind government websites.

Web hosting has long been a cost center within the public sector, in part because sites are constantly evolving. With every new mandate to improve digital services for citizens or employees, agencies end up layering on more tools — each with its own costs, custom code, and maintenance headaches.

Legacy hosting setups make it worse. They slow teams down, forcing employees to jump through hoops just to publish an update or meet new accessibility standards. And the longer those systems lag behind, the higher the risk — financial, operational, even reputational.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

How the costs of legacy hosting add up

These challenges aren’t abstract. The pressure to cut spending is real — and growing.

The only way for federal agencies to meet these expectations is by consolidating the tech vendors they use. But there’s a catch: According to recent EY research, 55% of federal government IT leaders believe it’s too costly to transition out of legacy systems, and 64% believe modernizing to new tools and platforms is also too expensive.

Let’s clear that up. Modernization done right, especially replatforming your web host, doesn’t cost more. It saves more.

What is web host replatforming (and why it matters for federal agencies)

Replatforming is the smarter way to modernize. It means moving your site from one platform to another to gain advantages in performance, security, scalability, and advanced capabilities like AI.

It’s not a full redesign, and it’s not a simple rehost. Replatforming involves a few key code and architectural changes that unlock major ROI and cost savings. You can keep your site’s design intact while improving how it runs behind the scenes.

In short: replatforming lets agencies spend less time maintaining tech — and more time delivering impact.

Web host replatforming best practices for government

Replatforming extends beyond short-term cost reductions, such as hiring freezes, postponing projects, or reducing travel expenses. It’s a sustainable way to modernize, reduce costs, and improve the citizen experience all at once.

Boston Consulting Group says better use of technology can help public sector organizations cut costs by 25% to 35% depending on the initiative.

Here’s your action plan:

1. Cut costs with the cloud

Web hosting has traditionally been treated as a capital expense, where significant upfront spending can be followed by additional unforeseen costs and fees. The rise of cloud infrastructure has changed that by letting agencies work with web host providers like WordPress VIP, which owns its own data centers and co-location facilities.

This turns web hosting into a more predictable operational expense that aligns with the current federal spending priorities.

2. Audit the hidden costs of maintenance

Developers can play an integral role in reimagining how government services are delivered to citizens through digital channels. The reality they are often bogged down in onerous maintenance work to manage technology resources and deal with routine fixes.

Working with a web host provider like WordPress VIP allows federal agencies to offload complex maintenance, security, and uptime management tasks. This means they can shift focus to higher-value activities, especially since WordPress VIP’s integrated tooling lets them streamline their workflows and push better code, faster. This can boost retention, allowing you to avoid the costly process of replacing staff.

3. Unblock your communications teams

The adage “time is money” is as true within government as it is everywhere else. When internal communication teams need to take extra time because publishing website content is cumbersome and complex, deadlines can get missed and results don’t meet expectations.

WordPress VIP can discuss what working with a modern web host means in terms of automating and accelerating a variety of content management tasks. This reduces training costs and improves morale for those responsible for disseminating important information.

As AI becomes a bigger part of our platform, we’re building in capabilities that will make it even easier to produce, publish, and analyze content so everyone gets more work (and better work) done.  

4. Futureproof for what’s next in the federal government

Traffic to government websites will only grow as digital self-service expands. When that flood of traffic hits, you shouldn’t have to worry about downtime or overage fees.

WordPress VIP already powers some of the world’s busiest sites. Our platform scales with ease and comes with expert professional support. In other words, our infrastructure will automatically adjust to handle traffic spikes. This allows you to save costs that would otherwise be spent on overprovisioning resources, as well as any penalties such as overage fees. 

5. Embrace open source to allow for continuous innovation

Even amid cost reductions, agencies must continue to raise the bar in terms of how they serve citizens online. Your web host should offer you the ability to take the best ideas and act on them without worries about spending getting out of control.

A flexible architecture like WordPress VIP means you can customize and build the best citizen experience possible, whether it’s a single stack, headless, or hybrid approach.

Even better, WordPress VIP is open source. This enables public sector organizations to avoid vendor lock-in and leverage a vast developer community and a library of ready-made solutions.

Replatforming to a modern web host represents the most viable path forward as the public sector prioritizes cost management. It turns modernization from an IT project into a strategic lever for maximizing taxpayer value and improving the public’s experience of government.